


Tertia Oculus

by SweetPotatoKimchi



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Demons, Familiars, M/M, POV Multiple, Portals, Rating May Change, Samhain, Shapeshifting, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Summoning, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-16 02:01:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19308370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetPotatoKimchi/pseuds/SweetPotatoKimchi
Summary: “Acolyte Hyunjin,” Woojin turned to the tallest, “Tell me. What is special about Samhain?”Hyunjin stood a bit taller, “During the time of Samhain, the divisions between our world and all others are at their thinnest.”Woojin nodded, “Correct. The veil between all words is practically transparent. The woods surrounding us, even without Samhain, are considered rich with natural energies. Your job is to venture into these woods alone and, through a summoning or your own physical crossover into another world, return with a familiar from another world. Done correctly, your familiar will become a source of greater magic, an enhancement of your own natural abilities, and a loyal companion. Done incorrectly, you could lose access to your magic, become stranded in another world, or even find yourself prey to stronger beings. Do not be deceived by appearance alone. Do not overestimate your abilities. Do not forget that, tomorrow night, the veils will once more thicken, stranding you. Be wary; be prudent; be brave; be wise, and above all else, be true.” As Woojin finished his speech, the last rays of sunlight officially disappeared.





	Tertia Oculus

**Author's Note:**

> Alright!! Here is another multi-chapter story I've been working on!! Don't worry. I'm still working on my others, but since I started messing with this one back at the beginning of the MIroh era....I figured it was probably time to start posting it. I hope you enjoy.  
> A few notes about the story:  
> I don’t speak Latin. But, I think it sounds best for spells. So, I did my best with google translate. Hopefully it’s not too off/terrible.   
> Also, the ranks in the coven are completely taken and adapted from the various ranks of the Netflix original show: The Order.   
> Woojin’s familiar is not intended to be based off of anyone….It’s a combination of Yong: Dragon and Baem: Snake.

Magistratus Kim Woojin blinked as the setting sun shifted beneath the tree line, adjusting to the rising darkness. Excited whispers and hushed voices filled the area around him. 

“I can’t believe it’s finally time,” one of the youngest acolytes in the crowd, Yang Jeongin whispered, red hair catching the light of the fading sunlight in an unnatural way. 

“Shh, Jeongin,” Hyunjin, Jeongin's close friend whispered. “Magistratus Kim said we’re supposed to be meditating.” 

“Sorry, Hyung,” Jeongin murmured. Hyunjin, the tallest in the crowd folded his arms and turned slightly away from his friend, light brown hair blending into the darkening area.   

Woojin smiled, looking at another pair. Bang Chan was leaning over and whispering into Lee Minho’s ear. Chan had a shocking mix of blonde hair with lavender highlights placed periodically, throughout. The other boy was less obvious about his excitement, lithe body lounging almost catlike in the clearing where they stood. 

Park Jin Young, Coven Magus, turned towards Woojin and whispered, softly, “It’s time, Magistratus.” 

Woojin nodded, stepping towards the young students, clearing his throat. Congratulations, Acolytes. Tonight is your chance to reach the rank of medicum. It’s been a long road for many of you and a hard one for all. However, over the next 24 hours of this year’s Samhain, you will be tried as Acolytes. Are there any who wish to withdraw?” Woojin paused, scanning the clearing slowly. Unlike the previous year, there were none who raised their hand. “Very well, then. I shall now explain what I can about what will happen, now.” 

“Acolyte Hyunjin,” He turned to the tallest, “Tell me. What is special about Samhain?” 

Hyunjin stood a bit taller, “During the time of Samhain, the divisions between our world and all others are at their thinnest.” 

Woojin nodded, “Correct. The veil between all words is practically transparent. The woods surrounding us, even without Samhain, are considered rich with natural energies. Your job is to venture into these woods alone and, through a summoning or your own physical crossover into another world, return with a familiar from another world. Done correctly, your familiar will become a source of greater magic, an enhancement of your own natural abilities, and a loyal companion. Done incorrectly, you could lose access to your magic, become stranded in another world, or even find yourself prey to stronger beings. Do not be deceived by appearance alone. Do not overestimate your abilities. Do not forget that, tomorrow night, the veils will once more thicken, stranding you. Be wary; be prudent; be brave; be wise, and above all else, be true.” As Woojin finished his speech, the last rays of sunlight officially disappeared. Woojin raised his hand and a snake slid itself up his arm, mouth opening upwards to the sky. With a few, chanted words from Woojin, a beam of light shot upwards towards the sky. “This is my familiar, Yongbaem. He will light the path for your safe return. I suggest you get started.” 

With his final words, the crowd immediately dispersed. Park Jin Young turned to Woojin as the last acolyte disappeared into the trees. “Nice speech,” he remarked with a grin. “Even better than last year’s.” 

Woojin smiled, “Thanks, Magus. Yongbaem and I are prepared to wait out the next twenty four hours. If you’d like to head home and rest, we have things covered, here.” 

Park Jin Young nodded, “Thank you, Magistratus. I’m consistently grateful that you left your previous coven and joined mine. You make me proud.” 

He left Woojin with a pat on his shoulder. “It’s an honor,” Woojin said in farewell. When the Magus was out of sight, he reached into his enchanted bag and pulled out a large pole. One end had a stake; the other end was forked. He drove the stake end through the ground, lifting his familiar onto the forked end where he could stretch out. He sweetly pet down Yongbaem’s scales, before he turned back to his bag and pulled out a few supplies for the long night and day ahead, including but not limited to, a warm container of fried chicken. 

  
  
  


Chan ran through the woods, eagerly. He had been looking forward to this day for almost seven years. When he moved from his home as a young boy, it was under the guidance and direct tutorship of the Coven Magus. But he was so much younger than the other Neophytes and Acolytes that he wasn’t allowed to participate in the trials for several years. Then, the next few years, Chan was too nervous to participate. He lost confidence in himself and his abilities, and all the caution others sent his way started to make him think he was weak, so he backed out. But, last year, when he left the crowd the second year in a row, Magistratus Woojin found him after. They became close friends, despite their rank difference, and Woojin really helped Chan come out of his shell, again. Chan also became incredibly close friends with three of the newer acolytes, Minho, Hyunjin and Jeongin. Together they started planning for the future. It was their goal to all be promoted, together. 

That’s why, as Chan ran alone through the woods, he felt a courage he’d been missing in years past. He had friends, others to work hard for. He wasn’t going to disappoint them, and he had total faith that they wouldn’t disappoint him. Of the familiars gained over the last few hundred years, only a few had been earned through means other than summoning. In fact, in the last twenty years, Woojin was the first, and only, to successfully enter into another world and bring back a familiar. It was easier and safer to summon one’s familiar; however, the power levels between beings was drastic in size and strength. 

There were other reasons that acolytes rarely tried to enter the other world’s. Of course, it was incredibly risky to enter another world - both for your own safety and for the binding of your familiar. When a familiar was summoned, it was within magic circles and sealing spaces, and very rarely were malicious spirits summoned. By entering the various worlds of the familiars, acolytes took upon themselves both the risk of time and the gamble of intent. But Chan and his friends were determined to come back from the trial with the strongest familiars imaginable. Of course, the other difficult thing about entering other worlds to find familiars is that, well, it’s incredibly hard to  _ find  _ the entrances to the other worlds. It takes high level detection spells. Thankfully, Chan and the others had spent the last several months researching diligently and, with four minds pooling together, they had each found and perfected what they would need. 

Chan figured that, at this point, he had run far enough from the clearing that he could stop and begin his spells. He stopped running, catching his breath before he reached into his bag and pulled out a flask and a shard of white willow bark. Chan, and all of his stray friends had a similar flask. Combined within each flask was a potion made up of coltsfoot, horehound, mugwort, star anise and yarrow. The herbs combined within were each herbs of divination, wisdom and the dispelling of illusions. Chan opened up the flask and then, carefully, dipped in the shard of white willow bark, soaking it gently. The bark shared properties with the rest of the herbs in the potion. 

But, it wasn’t a potion for drinking. Chan held the bark between his fingers and, bringing the wet bark up to his forehead, against the location of the third eye, Chan quietly, but purposefully, began chanting,  _ “Oculum mentis meae, non visum videre. Lumen semitis allis mundos; Oculum mentis meae, non visum videre. Lumen semitis aliis mundos…” Eye of my mind, see the unseen. Bring light to the paths to other worlds.  _

While Chan was chanting, first his left and then his right eye started to form a ring of light around his pupils, furthermore, the third time he chanted the phrase, the area where he had placed the potion on his forehead began to glow, dimly. The three rings of light grew brighter, and began spinning, tendrils of light swirling away from the rings to form a triangle between the three points. As Chan finished the fifth chant, the light from his spell cast onto the ground in front of him. With a grin, he stopped chanting, returning the items from his spell into this bag. Chan looked at the ground where the triangle was, noticing that the image was casting shimmers of light off in three directions, from each of the three points of the triangle. “I guess I have to choose one of the three?” He asked out loud, choosing the path that seemed to lead right. He carefully started walking in the direction it pointed.

When he was several yards down the path, the triangle formed on the ground once more, only this time the other sides of the triangle faded, leaving the left side brighter. Chan shrugged and started moving forward along the left side. He was only a few steps in when the triangle formed again, except it wasn’t on the ground this time. The triangle of light was large, and standing straight up, as if a doorway. Chan approached it, cautiously, peering through to the other side. He couldn’t see much, but he could feel a warmth that was nothing like his current location. Taking a deep breath, Chan stepped through the gateway. 

The first thing he noticed when he stepped through was not with his eyes, but his ears. He could hear the rushing of waves crashing against something. He turned to the sound, blinking as he tried to take in what he was seeing. The area was not dark, like the woods, but rather bright. Chan was standing on a sandy shore, not too different from beaches he’d seen in Australia as a kid. 

Chan took a deep breath, calming his rapidly beating heart as he tried to pick a direction to move. He finally decided to walk straight forward, parallel to the shore. He focused his gaze on an area a good distance ahead, where the shore curved out of sight, it’s natural path blocked by a very rocky cliff side. It took him what felt like forever to finally reach the cliff side, the natural incline in altitude on the path, leaving him slightly breathless as he looked around. He wasn’t sure what to look for. He didn’t exactly want a sea creature for a familiar, but from his new vantage point, he could officially confirm the only thing around for miles and miles was sea and sand. Perhaps he had picked a bad path, a pointless portal. With a sigh, he sat down on a large rock to catch his breath and collect his thoughts. He reached into his bag and retrieved his water bottle, taking a large gulp before returning it to his bag. He wiped his lips with a deep sigh. Perhaps he should head back to the portal and try a different path, but as he was moving to stand up, he heard a noise off to his right. 

Chan turned towards the noise, breath catching when his eyes fell on an orange cat with startling brown eyes. The cat approached him, slowly, eyes boring into his own with an almost human-like intelligence. Chan stared at the creature, cautiously, as it moved towards him. He was a bit unsure of what to do. Should he say something? Bind the creature with a spell? He decided to hold his hand out in front of him where the cat could see. He really didn’t know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t for the cat to stare into his eyes as it slowly moved forward and licked Chan’s hand. 

Back home, Minho had several cats, so Chan was used to playing with the animals. As such, he’d had his hand licked hundreds of times. But the way that this cat did it was different. It wasn’t a playful move or a sign of affection; this lick was purposeful. The cat’s tongue ran along the back of Chan’s hand, not his palm, and Chan realized, after staring at it confused for a moment, that the cat was licking up the moisture from Chan’s hand, where he had wiped his lips a moment earlier. 

“Oh,” Chan gasped, comprehension dawning on him.  He reached back into his bag and pulled his water bottle back out, cupping his right hand, and using his left to pour a small pool into his palm. He carefully held his hand out to the cat. The cat stared at Chan for a brief second, before bowing its head gently to lap at the water. As the cat did so, Chan looked around at the surroundings, once more. Between miles of sand and salt water, this cat must have been so thirsty. 

“How long has it been since you’ve had a drink?” Chan pondered out loud. 

The cat looked up at him, again with an eerily conscious gaze, and as Chan stared into the feline’s eyes, somehow, he knew that the cat could understand him. The cat broke his gaze, and moved to finish drinking Chan’s offering. While the cat finished its drink, Chan chanted a brief aura spell, to analyze the creatures natural mana supply. He had to blink as his gaze fell upon the almost supernova level brightness that he was met with. 

“What are you?” He wondered aloud, in awe. “I’ve never seen such mana in just one creature,” He breathed out, almost reverently. 

The cat was done drinking, and Chan wiped the last of the moisture from his hand, on his pants. He didn’t expect a response from the cat, if it even  _ was  _ a cat, and he didn’t get one, at least not verbally. But as he looked into the cat’s eyes, the creature moved forward, and jumped onto Chan’s shoulder. Chan turned to look at the cat, confused and a little startled by the action. But as he turned to the creature, it balanced itself in a position to tap its nose against Chan’s forehead, at the location of the third eye. Almost instantly, Chan hunched forward, as the rushing sound of waves faded, being replaced by the sound of his own heartbeat. His vision blurred around the edges, almost seeming to be enveloped by a prism of rainbows. He could feel a tingle of magic, foreign to him, but yet somehow not frightening, throughout his whole body. The shock to his senses couldn’t have lasted more than a few seconds, but when it finally faded, a deep voice, not his own, sounded in his mind. 

_ Thank you for allowing me to drink.  _

Chan looked forward. The cat had jumped from his shoulder, and was once more looking into Chan’s eyes. 

“I-”

_ You do not need to speak out loud. I will hear you if you simply push your thoughts towards me.  _

Chan furrowed his brow, concentrating,  _ Push my thoughts? _

The cat seemed to grin,  _ Exactly. Like that.  _

_ What are you?  _ Chan directed his question once more. 

_ That story is too long for now,  _ the cat looked away.  _ Why have you come to this world?  _

_ I seek a companion,  _ Chan said, simply,  _ A familiar, if you will.  _

_ Why not summon, like all the rest?  _

_ How do you know of the summonings?  _ Chan asked, genuinely intrigued

_ All creatures of the realm know of the rituals. They are taught to fear the thinning, as they could be pulled from their world, their home. Only a handful of your kind have ever made the journey themselves. You must be brave or very stupid.  _

Chan laughed out loud,  _ I am neither - just determined.  _

_ What do they call you, Spellweaver? _

Chan thought for a moment,  _ Is it wise to give you my name?  _

_ Perhaps, perhaps not. Would you dare?  _

_ Give me yours, first.  _

The cat looked into Chan’s eyes, calculating,  _ You can call me Felix.  _

_ Then you can call me Chris.  _ Chan intentionally held back from giving his given name.

_ Chris, very well.  _

_ Felix, _ Chan thought, after a moment,  _ Would you be willing to return to my home with me? _

Felix looked at Chris with deep concentration.  _ I never desired to cross the veil,  _ he finally responded. Chris started to concentrate on a response of his own, but Felix was continuing.  _ Nevertheless, I owe you my life. I was dying, until you gave me water. My kind repay our debts - a life for a life. In saving mine, you have bound me by honor, to protect yours.   _

_ Are you sure?  _ Chan asked, genuinely concerned. He had not come to enslave, but to enlist. 

_ I am, _ Felix confirmed, definitively.

_ Very well. There are a few spells I need to perform. Will you do as I ask?  _

Felix inclined his head,  _ You have my word. _

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! I hope you enjoyed!! There will be MUCH to come in the future!!   
> Let me know what you are thinking so far in the comments below!   
> With LOVE!!   
> ~SweetPotatoKimchi~


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